Rodriguez’s posse has spread the word that he could start his minor-league rehabilitation clock as soon as next week. The Yankees aren’t signing off on such a definitive schedule, yet they, too, voice optimism about his steady progress. Suddenly, the “after the All-Star break” timeline the Yankees voiced immediately following A-Rod’s January surgery doesn’t seem like the setup for a joke.

Nevertheless, a gulf remains between feeling good at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa and contributing as a major league player. You simply don’t see a soon-to-be 38-year-old with two surgically repaired hips execute great athletic feats, which is why skepticism has surrounded A-Rod’s comeback attempt since the news of his injury first broke.

You know the best thing A-Rod might have going for him right now? David Adams. The poor kid looks wholly overmatched as the Yankees’ everyday third baseman, putting up a ghastly slash line of .191/.226/.292. He has set the bar so low that Yankees fans, desperate for an upgrade, might hold their noses and open their minds to a return from A-Rod — who, let’s not forget, still has more job security than anyone else in the organization thanks to his contract that goes through 2017. If he’s even half the player he once was, A-Rod would provide far more value than Adams.